Two West London men have been sentenced to prison and three others have been sentenced for stealing nearly £157,000 from drunk Londoners …

In a series of thefts across the capital, a gang of five men targeted members of the public late at night and early in the morning. Victims’ bank cards were stolen and used fraudulently, including the purchase of designer clothes worth £37,000. On Friday, August 12, the men pleaded guilty to the acquisition, use, and possession of criminal property, conspiracy to steal, and conspiracy to defraud at Inner London Crown Court. On Thursday, November 24, they were sentenced. Mohammed Yusuf, 26, and Arun Babbar, 23, both of Harrow, were sentenced to more than three years in prison and were given a five-year criminal behaviour order. Hamzah Mahmood, 25, of Wembley, Reece Brown, 25, of Harrow, and Mahamed Hassan, 25, of Harrow, were all given suspended sentences. Arun Babbar, 23, of Harrow, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Mahmood was also given a three-year criminal behaviour order, as well as 100 hours of unpaid work, a 20-day rehabilitation activity, a three-month electronic tag, and a six-month curfew. Brown and Hassan were each given a two-year criminal behaviour order, as well as a 20-day rehabilitation activity and a three-month electronic tag. At midnight on November 26, 2021, the gang went on a crime spree. Babbar, Mahmood, and Yusuf surrounded a man who was withdrawing £10 from an ATM near Cannon Street. The man couldn’t recall what happened, but he soon discovered that more than £1,000 had been spent on his bank cards while he was with the group. A third bank card had gone missing as well. On the same night in Moorgate, the same three men and Brown targeted another victim. They bought alcohol and were invited to the victim’s flat in Ealing around 4 a.m. The gang left the flat at 8.25 a.m., and the victim later discovered that his credit card was missing. It was used to purchase £10,000 in designer clothing on the same day. On November 28, 2021, Babbar and Hassan moved on to the gang’s third victim. A man leaving a nightclub in Euston was picked up by the pair. At around 6.40 a.m., the victim invited the pair to his home. Babbar and Hassan left an hour later with four £26,800 watches. The victim later discovered that £27,000 had been taken from his bank account and spent on designer clothes and sportswear. Babbar was arrested on December 16, 2021, in connection with a robbery near London Bridge in October of last year. He was sentenced to eight months in prison, which will run concurrently with his theft sentences. On March 5, 2022, police observed Hassan and Mahmood approaching a man at an ATM in Eastcheap. When police confronted the pair, they claimed the man was a friend. When police asked for his name, they were unable to confirm it. Police discovered Mahmood in possession of two fraudulent bank cards. On March 8, 2022, police searched the homes of Mahmood, Brown, Hassan, and Yusuf. Mahmood was also linked to three more thefts that occurred between December 2021 and February 2022. Babbar was linked to five additional thefts between September 21, 2021 and November 17, 2021 after police discovered a cryptocurrency wallet worth £59,991. This group deliberately targeted people who had been out on a night out because they knew they would be more vulnerable to theft,” said Detective Sergeant Dominic Shaw of the City of London Police’s Major Crime Team. They gained their victims’ trust, even inviting themselves into their homes, before stealing tens of thousands of pounds from their bank and cryptocurrency accounts.